December UFO List

 The UFO list has been changing this month!  As always, my first projects remain unchanged, so check the last numbers for differences.  Those long term projects just aren’t on my radar for now, except for the hand pieced hexagons, which has probably another five years before I’m ready to move on to the next one!

I started a baby quilt for my sister, added my snowflake banner to my list, and began the Rhododendron mystery.  The end of the month was a flurry of finishes, with the 16 patch stars, snowflake banner, and baby quilt begin wrapped up.

1. Double wedding ring

2. Pillow

3. ABC appliqué 

4. Hand hexagons

5. Split Star

6. Farm quilt

7. Pink hexagons

8. Macaron Mystery

9. Rhododendron Mystery

November 1: 9 projects

Started: 3

Finished: 3

November 30: 9 projects

It’s time to ponder my goals and projects for next year.  I will admit I am feeling a bit lackluster about 2022.  It would be delightful to have a crystal ball and know what major events and what family health events are going to contribute to the chaos of another year.  I am making lists of people I think need a quilt as well as quilt ideas I’d like to try.  Do you have a project you’re really excited about?

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

November 350 Block Report

 For as much sewing as I actually did this month, the block count is fairly anemic.  I suppose even finishing has its drawbacks!

I finished 8 farm blocks and 30 scrappy mountain blocks.  38 blocks for November brings my 2021 block total to 729.

This report is part of the 350 Blocks Challenge by Prairie Moon Quilts.  I’ve been participating, more thoroughly some years than others, since she started.  It’s always interesting to track data!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #49 and 15 Minutes

 I finished my pink hexagon star (woohoo!) so I definitely fit in my 15 minutes each day.  My stats are now 317 of 331 days for 2021.  I’m thrilled.

I finished seven pillowcases and a snowflake banner.  Sadly, the banner is a failure for its intended purpose (covering the breaker box) because I didn’t notice the distortion until after I had finished the binding.  Sigh.  It still counts as fabric out.  Fortunately, I also have a baby quilt basted as of writing this, which means I should have another finish next week.  Woot!

IN this week: 0 yards

OUT this week: 8 yards

IN YTD: 81 yards

OUT YTD: 119 1/2 yards

YTD Total: 38 1/2 yards OUT

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Yay!

We were happy to (safely) visit with family this week.  Happy visiting, vats of cooking, and a pair of house guests meant I didn’t get much sewing time.

Fortunately, I was ahead on my hand sewing and I have a lovely completion for the week.

I also made blocks for a planned but scrappy baby quilt.  I will show the gradient that inspired my selections when I put this quilt together.

Finally, instead of scrappy sewing (ahem, farm blocks), I delightfully took a detour to make Christmas pillow cases for my children.  They will be stocking gifts for the feast of St. Nicholas.

Finally, at the end of last week (or early this week?) I finished my scrappy 16 patch quilt.  Miss G approves of it as a teacher gift, so it has a home!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

 katie z.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 I am grateful for you and your kind participation in the quilty part of my life.  I hope your day was filled with peaceful family, good food, and rest.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Finished Quilt: 16 Patch Stars

Hello, finished quilt!  You’re quite a cozy thing, finishing at roughly 60”

The backing looks (shockingly) on the gray end of blue, but in real life, it’s a lovely mottled blue green.  I dyed it in one of our marathon dyeing sessions this summer.  The straight line quilting is a dark green thread and blends splendidly with the backing.  The binding is a black and white batik.

Two different grays make up the background fabric.  When they ran out, I used tans and whites for the “border” of extra triangles and squares to finish out the pattern.  The colored squared and triangles are all from my 2.5” scrap box.  I was really hoping to use up more of the box, but my gray fabric ran out at these 49 blocks.

I’ll have to keep plotting to empty the 2.5” scrap box.  There are, most likely, two more quilts snuggled comfortably in the box still!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #48 and 15 Minutes

 I always like the weeks when I finish quilts!  This week, I made JoJo a quick saint costume for his saint gallery at school, so 1 1/2 yards of black fabric disappeared from the stash.  I also quilted and bound my 16 patch quilt.

I also ordered and received 10 yards of fabric.  Three yards are for the sashing on my farm quilt.  Since I’d rather have fabric than pay a shipping charge, I also ordered seven yards of Christmas fabric to make pillow cases for the kids.  They’re already cut and ready to sew next week.

IN this week: 10 yards

OUT this week: 7 3/4 yards

IN YTD: 81 yards

OUT YTD: 111 1/2 yards

YTD Total: 30 1/2 yards OUT

I did hand sewing every day this week, so my pink hexagon star should get finished over Thanksgiving Break.  That makes 310 of 324 days for 2021.

from the room of Zana’s.Ninis,

katie z.

Rise and Shine

 I am sneaking in this blog post before the day gets busy, rather than after!  We have a rather large burn pile to monitor today, so I need to move along.

I made more progress on farm quilt blocks than I remembered.  Of course, some of the letters are from previous weeks, but here we are.  Roughly our house; we have four windows on the bottom as well as a lovely porch, but that’s more redrafting than I want to do.  I also realized, just now, that I put the lower windows in upside down.  They’re staying!

Our last name is almost done.

And a zinnia.  Maybe I’ll have the brain space to plant a few this spring.  I am so enjoying that we still have roses in late November,

Most of my sewing time this week was spent on quilting my scrappy 16 patch quilt.  I picked a dark green thread to blend with the backing (a piece I dyed over of the summer).

I do enjoy when I’m close to a finish!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #47 and 15 Minutes

 The stash report status is unchanged.  I’m pegging away at my 16 patch quilt; today the quilting progress began.  I also started a costume for my son for school; I left it a little too long and it’s to be at school Wednesday!  Next week should have at least one, if not two, improvements to the stash report.

I completed my hand stitching every day, so I’m a bit ahead of schedule.  I find that fortuitous as Thanksgiving week may bring us guests and I may be too busy for stitching.  My total is 303 of 317 days for 2021.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Winter Weather

 We survived a week of school and haven’t caught the stomach bug yet.  If we can make it through next week, we will be able to see family for Thanksgiving!  My house is the (hopeful) gathering spot, but we absolutely cannot gather if we end up with a stomach bug.  One year one of us gave the Noravirus to my BiL (kidney transplant recipient) and he ended the holidays in the ER.  All of us that can have been vaccinated, and we’re going to celebrate mostly outside.

In the meantime, it’s cold outside.  Outside chores are animal care and stacking/hauling wood.  My headaches have been a little less bothersome, so I found more time to sew. I even redrafted the Christmas candle block to be four candles instead of three.  I also finished the gingham block.

I also finished the flimsy and basted my 16-patch quilt.  It’s not behaving quite nicely, but I am aware that’s my sewing skills, not the fabric.  I think it will be fine.  I’m using a back I dyed myself this summer (with added strips of squares as it wasn’t quite wide enough).  It might go to Miss G’s teacher for a Christmas gift if Miss G approves.

There are errands to run today, so I need to wrap this up!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Stash Report Week #46 and 15 Minutes

 I caught up on the last round of brown early in the week and rolled on enthusiastically (or not) into a large pink star.  By some twist of fate, despite the chaos of the week, I finished the first two rounds.  Next week, I’ll make the little spokes, and the rest of November will be the final round.  Fortunately, that brings me to 296 of 310 for 2021.

On the stash report front, my friend Vicki sent me a few books and stuffed in some scraps as well.  (Thank you again!). They’re stacked on my cutting board while I sort and resort them.  I love scraps.  My hand dyed scraps might be a bit ridiculous, but it’s because I can’t stand to mix the precious fabrics in with my “normal” fabric.

IN this week: 1 yard

OUT this week: 0 yards

IN YTD: 71 yards

OUT YTD: 103 3/4 yards

YTD Total: 32 3/4 yards OUT

I also exhausted another spool of thread, making it 20 for the year.

Finally, I didn’t count the fabric in, but I finished the sewing of cloaks for the Infant of Prague statue for my brother.  He’s been very patient, but needs the first for Advent, so it was high time!  I’m keeping the silk scraps but not in with the usual stash.  We’ll have to see what I can come up with!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Moving Forward

 (Little man has a fever, again, so I’m feeling a little sucker punched at the moment.  Not that I’m the one sick, but it requires so much energy and rearranging of the obligations and plans for the day.)

I had plans to press this amount of sewing before snapping a picture, but, alas.  I have two more rows and borders left to add.  So far, I quite like it.  It certainly did not use enough of my remaining 2.5” bits, but that’s okay.  I have the remainder cut into triangles, squares, and rectangles, which will give me plenty of upcoming entertainment!

I made one (unpressed) farm block, so I’ll show that next week.  It’s so full of long seams that it appears to be an accordion at the moment.

I hope your weekend is restful, productive, or whatever you most need.

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

November UFO List

Did I finish a quilt in October?  Nope.  That’s quite all right.  I added one new quilt, made all the blocks for it, and made happy progress on my farm quilt.  On we go.

1. Double wedding ring

2. Pillow

3. ABC appliqué 

4. Hand hexagons

5. Split Star

6. Farm quilt

7. Pink hexagons

8. Macaron Mystery

9. 2.5” project

October 1: 8 projects

Started: 1

Finished: 0

October 31: 9 projects

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

November Goals

 October is gone as fast as September, so here we are in November.  We are six weeks away from having owned our new house for a year!

1. Scraps: trim, put brown rounds on a few more hexagons, sew some new farm blocks and sew some small blocks into sets of four.  Maybe I can put my 2.5” squares into 16-patches.  We shall see.  Four hexagon flowers with brown rounds, 14 new farm blocks, no blocks sewn into sets of four, and my 2.5” squares are all in their blocks!

2.  Masks.  Yes.

3.  I’d like to do the next step on the Macaron Mystery when it comes out.  Done.

4. Sewing for my brother.  Three done, two left.

For November, the goals don’t look much different.

1. Scraps: trimming, make a large pink hexagon star, sew some farm blocks and sew small blocks into 4 patches, and finish the 16 patch quilt.

2.  I’ll work on the next step of the Macaron Mystery.

3.  Finish the fancy sewing for my brother.  I can do it!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.

October 350 Block Count

 Starting (and finishing all the blocks) for a new quilt is always a nice way to boost my block count for a month.  This month, I finished 14 farm blocks and 77 blocks for my scrappy 16 patch quilt.  If I can do my addition correctly, that’s 91 blocks for the month.  Unfortunately, it would appear I did NOT add correction in September, so should have had a total of 600 blocks, bringing me to 691 this month.  Oy.  I need to be a bit more tidy in my notebook and this wouldn’t happen quite so frequently!

from the room of Zana’s Ninis,

katie z.